Here are some of the select personality gems that a winning player must have in order to consistently win, according to Greenstein:

Sense of humor:Anytime you opt to play a hand, there is a risk that you will lose. A pretty good one actually. And even if you are way ahead and the bad beat comes to fruition, the winning player will shrug it off with a joke and say “At least it’s not cancer, right?” The loser will curse the dealer and the poker gods.

Generosity:Winning players tend to treat the game well — and the people that put it together. They take care of the dealers, and if they do well in a tournament, they make sure the staff is well compensated.

Outgoing:There isn’t a way to put a dollar amount on the value of being kind and cordial at your table. Make players feel welcome, especially the ones that are losing and foster a gracious and welcoming table environment.

Optimism:The mentality that for every wrong, there is a right. The theme for optimism is that if you continue to make the correct decisions, it will all be good in the end. The winning mindset is that something amazing is about to happen, even if the present reality attempts to tell a different story.

Greed:When you are busting a game for a good profit, there’s no reason to quit unless you have squeezed the last red cent out of it. It’s not easy to find a juicy game, so as long as you can continue to play optimally, do so.

Competitive:Everybody wants to be the fastest runner or lift the most weight. You should always want to dominate and win every poker session. A successful player aims to always win the most money.

Fearless:Winning players aren’t afraid to be ultra-aggressive, even if it means it could blow up in their face. That poorly calculated bluff could decimate a single session or force you into a re-buy scenario, but if that same thought process was good enough take down scores of other uncontested pots, you are ahead long term.

Motivation:The money is great and, in things such as tournaments, you make more the better you do. But you know what? Sometimes you have to convince yourself to go for the win, regardless of the risk of failing. World Series of Poker tournament winners will always say the bracelet means more than the money. Some of them are liars; most are not.

Honesty:Everybody knows when they are playing well, but are you capable of being honest with yourself when you aren’t? Winning players are able to shed the ego and admit there were leaks in their game that surfaced and allowed a window of exploitation.